Learning to Live
by Baby seal
Summary: Louise Mitchell was just a normal 11 year old girl, but when she gets a mysterious letter, she is thrown into a world of magic, finds friendship and romance, and learns to live. MWPP Era. Pairings SBOC LEJP RLOC. Rated M for safety.
1. A Letter

Louise Mitchell had just gotten back to her house in Surrey, England after catching the bus home with her best friend, Nathalie Parker. They were typical eleven year old girls (they shared the same birthday, which was today, the 23rd July) and had just finished another pretty boring day at school. Nathalie, a tall and willowy blonde, wore their Surrey Intermediate uniform with style while Louise, a curvy brunette who was considerably shorter than Nathalie, hated the way the white top showed off her hourglass figure. The two had been best friends since they had been born, as their mums had always been close.

Louise turned on her radio and began singing along happily to her favourite song - Stronger, by Kanye West - while she changed out of her much hated uniform and into a pair of comfy jeans, a long white figure hugging top and a hooded jumper.

She was just looking forward to tomorrow, her date with one of the hottest boys at their school, Andrew Murphy, when she heard a loud noise at her bedroom window. Thinking it was a perve trying something on, she hollered out, "Piss off if you know what's good for you!" and pulled the curtains across even tighter. A few seconds later, the noise came back, this time continuing to bang against the window.

"That's it," she sighed heavily, annoyed to have to get up and see the pervert off. She made her way over to her window and pulled the curtains back. What she saw completely unnerved her. A tawny brown owl was tapping at her window and had an envelope tied to its leg. She opened the window cautiously and let the owl in, pulling the envelope off its leg none too carefully. She tore open the envelope and read the letter that was inside it.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Miss Mitchell,_

_We__ are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

She gasped once she had read the letter. Her face had gone pale and she felt weak at the knees. Her, a witch? But surely they weren't even real!

Sure enough, inside the envelope there was another sheet of paper with uniform, books and equipment requirements on it. Was someone playing a joke on her? Because this wasn't funny.

Just then, she heard her mum get in. "Mum?" she called out, walking out of her bedroom and into the hallway, still holding the letter in her hands.

"Yes, Lou?" her mother, Claire Mitchell, answered tiredly, staggering in the door with bags of shopping in her arms.

"Mum, someone's sent me this really weird letter," Louise replied, "It says I'm a witch. I mean, what the hell?"- she said, seeing her mother's incredulous look, -"I bet it's some bitch from school trying to be funny."

Her mother dumped the bags of shopping in their kitchen before returning to her daughter, "Can I see?" she asked, holding out her hand for the letter, which Louise handed to her.

Claire's eyebrows furrowed as she read the letter.

"Yeah I know," Louise said, seeing her bewilderment, "It's random, isn't it?"

By the time her mother had read the letter, her face was pale and she was shaking, "Louise, I've heard of these. Danielle's daughter got one a few years back."

"So that means it's real," Louise interrupted.

"Yes it's very real," her mother said gravely, "And I guess you're going to have to go."

"What?! So that's it then. Goodbye to Surrey Intermediate, goodbye to Nathalie and Liz and all the rest of my mates and goodbye to Andrew! Okay, Louise, you're going to some retarded school somewhere in England that I've never even heard of before to become a witch?" Louise yelled furiously, glaring stonily at her mother. She could hold her own in an argument, any day.

"I'm sorry, honey," Claire said sympathetically, "I know this is gonna be hard for you and if it makes it any easier you can tell Nathalie all about it and you can take your phone and text her. Also, Sydney will be there too, just in a different year."

"Sydney?"

"Danielle's daughter. You know Danielle, my hairstylist, Lou."

"Mum, why do I have to do this? Isn't it optional whether I go or not?" Louise pleaded with her one last argument.

"Sydney tried that, honey," Claire explained, feeling sorry for her daughter, "They bombard you with owls and letters until you reply and if you reply saying that you don't want to go, they just keep sending them. But cheer up; Sydney loved it after she got there. Sure, she felt exactly like you did at first, but now she's right in there doing all that scary magic stuff. You should feel honoured because you get both worlds - magic and non-magic."

"So how am I gonna get there?" Louise asked, tasting the defeat in her words, "Do we have to buy a flying carpet and whatnot?"

"You take the train," her mother replied, biting her lip for what she knew would come. Louise slumped into Claire's lap, sobbing uncontrollably now.

"A b-boarding school?" the girl said in horror.

"Yes, and I'm sorry, Lou. I know, I know, you're just going to have to bear it somehow."

"I don't know how my life could get any worse," Louise choked out, her eyes streaming and red, "I hate magic!"

"No, shush love, no you don't," Claire said, comforting her daughter, "You give it a shot and you might just find you love it!"

"But what about you?" Louise said, really worrying about her mother, "I mean, there's no one else here! What are you going to do?"

"I'll figure something out, darl, you know I will," her mother soothed, "We can do this, Lou, we really can."

* * *

It was the 1st of September, and Louise was being dragged into Kings Cross station by her mother. She was pushing a trolley with Louise's suitcase in it, plus a large cauldron and an owl cage, with Louse's newly purchased tawny owl which she had called Nathalie.

"Alright, now where do we have to go?" Claire asked Louise anxiously, fretting over her daughter like a hen clucking over her chick.

"Platform nine and three quarters," Louise said sullenly, dreading getting on the train.

"What?" her mother said, panicking, "There isn't a platform nine and three quarters! Oh no, how could we have overlooked this detail! What'll we do now?"

"Excuse me," came a male voice from behind Louise. She spun around quickly and saw a quite good looking young boy with slightly longer than normal dark hair and gray eyes pushing a trolley identical to her own, "Going to Hogwarts?" the boy asked her conversationally, his eyes twinkling as he obviously knew the answer.

She nodded, unable to speak with the sudden lump in her throat.

The boy introduced himself as Sirius, and was in the middle of telling her how to get onto the train, when an imposing woman bore down upon him and seized him by the ear.

"What _do_ you think you're doing, Sirius!" she scolded him severely, yanking him backwards, still holding him by the ear. He winced, "Making friends, _mum_," he replied sullenly, glaring at her fiercely.

"Making pureblood friends, I hope?" Sirius' mother said, pulling him a good deal away from Louise and her mother and looking at them scornfully.

"What does it matter?" he said resentfully, aiming a kick at her shins.

"What does it matter?! Orion!"- she yelled, calling out to a tall man behind her, -"He can't go to Hogwarts like this! He'll shame our family! The noble house of Black! Now you'd better get yourself firmly sorted into Slytherin, mister!"

"Yes mum," Sirius said sourly, wriggling and trying to escape his mother's grasp.

"Off you go then," she called, her voice dripping with threats, "I'll be getting Bellatrix to owl me to report on how you've been behaving and _who you've been associating with_, so young man, you had better watch your back!"

He nodded bitterly at her aged face and she and her husband turned around and strode swiftly out of King's Cross station.

As soon as they were out of sight, he walked back over to Louise and her mother who were standing, shocked, where they had been when Sirius' mother had first come over.

"Sorry 'bout her," he said, grimacing as he felt the bruise his mother's hands had left on his ear, "Old bat."

"That was very- well, brave of you, Sirius," Claire said, feeling sorry for the poor boy standing in front of her.

He bowed jokingly, causing Louise and her to laugh at his antics, "Sir Sirius to the rescue," Louise said, giggling.

"Ah so you do speak!" he cried happily, grinning at her, "Hey, if you come with me, I can show you where to go to get on the train. I'm sorry, Mrs…"

"Mitchell, Claire Mitchell."

"I'm sorry Mrs Mitchell, but I don't think you're allowed past the barrier. You see, security's been a bit uptight lately, so that muggles aren't able to get onto the platform." Sirius said, looking regretful.

"Oh alright then, I suppose I'll see you off now, then," Claire said, talking mainly to Louise. She enveloped her daughter in a fierce hug and whispered in her ear, so quietly she could hardly hear it, "Good luck, Lou. I'll see you in the summer holidays! Owl me!"

"Love you mum," Louise whispered back, clutching her mother tightly.

"You'd better go now," Claire murmured, "Don't want to look too clingy."

"See you, mum!" Louise said louder, stepping back from her mother's embrace and pushing her trolley off towards the platforms with Sirius walking beside her, keeping pace with her and tactfully not mentioning how red her eyes were, or how she sniffled every now and again. He kept up a steady flow of chatter, informing her all about Hogwarts and the four houses, and answering her occasional questions.

When they reached the barrier between platform nine and ten, he stopped and so she did too. "Alright," he said, "You have to run through the barrier and you'll get to the other side, where the Hogwarts Express is waiting."

Louise smiled, despite her sadness at leaving her mother behind, "And we were getting along so well."

"What, don't you believe me?"

She shook her head, and he smiled, pointing at an older looking girl who was approaching them. She began to run towards the barrier, and when she reached it, she did not crash into the wall, she disappeared! Louise started. This couldn't be happening to her! She was the most normal girl ever… or she had been until her eleventh birthday.

Sirius had been watching her sympathetically, "Muggleborn, yeah?"

"What's that?" she asked, confused.

"It's a witch or wizard who doesn't have magical parents," he explained gently.

"Oh. Yeah, that would be me," she replied.

"C'mon!" he said, suddenly running towards the barrier. She took a deep breath - was she really ready for this? - and followed him cautiously, starting at a walk and then speeding up. When she reached the barrier she winced, expecting to hurt herself, but she found herself on the other side of the barrier.

It was exactly as Sirius had described - a great, red train with the words 'Hogwarts Express' on it. There were a lot of kids dressed exactly like her, all pushing trolleys and getting onto the train. Some had owls, some had cats and some had toads.

"Wow," she breathed softly, but Sirius caught it.

"It's awesome, isn't it," he said, regarding the station with pride, "C'mon, let's get on the train. I've never actually been on it," he confided, losing some of his know all attitude, which Louise found quite reassuring.

"Yeah let's," she agreed, and they made their way onto the train and picked a compartment towards the back of the train.

They had been on the train for barely ten minutes when a boy with messy hair and glasses entered the compartment, obviously looking for a seat.

"Hey, is it alright if I sit here?" he asked nervously, running his hands through his hair and making it stick up even more than it already was.

"Sure, take a seat," Sirius said, smiling at the newcomer welcomingly, "So what's your name?"

"I'm James Potter. And you are…"

"Sirius," he replied shortly, and James fell silent, not wanting to push it.

"And I'm Louise Mitchell," Louise said conversationally, standing up, "Hey I'd better go and get changed. I'll be back in five!"

"See you!" the two boys chorused together. They looked at each other, grinning.

Louise walked down to the toilets at the back of the train, holding her robe and uniform in her arm. After she was done, she went back to her compartment, enjoying the feel of air on her bare legs.

She breezed into their compartment, humming to herself, when she noticed the boys' dark expressions, "What?" she asked, cocking her head to one side questioningly.

Sirius' face brightened up when he saw her, "This sad little couple came into our compartment just after you left. There was this ugly as dude our age called Severus something or other, but Snivellus suits him better, I reckon. And there was this girl-"

"This _gorgeous_ girl," James interrupted, his eyes shining as he recalled her face, "With bright red hair and emerald green eyes-"

"Aw heck, he's going all poetic on us," Sirius mocked laughingly.

"-Called Lily. And so Snivellus told her she should be in Slytherin, and I said that if I was in Slytherin I'd leave, and so he got all nasty and started insulting us, and so we, of course, insulted him back, and then Lily left and he followed. Sad little groupie - hope she doesn't _like_ him! Sirius, do you think she does?" James rambled, turning to Sirius when he said the last sentence.

Sirius shrugged, "Don't know and don't care, mate."

She smiled warmly at the two, "I hope you two weren't _too_ mean," she warned, wagging her finger at them, "Otherwise, I don't really care."

James whooped, "Finally! A girl after my own heart!"

Sirius laughed and shook his head, "You're really one-of-a-kind, aren't you Lou?"

Lou? He had called her Lou! She wondered what this meant - were they real friends, or was his use of her nickname insinuating something more? No, she decided, she had Andy, and she wanted to be faithful to him and vice versa.

The rest of the train ride went by pretty uneventfully, apart from the trolley lady coming round and Sirius and James pretty much buying out the whole trolley. When the train came to a halt in a village the boys told her was called Hogsmeade, an extremely big man they called Hagrid called out, "Firs' years over 'ere! Firs' years over 'ere!"

"That's us," Sirius told her reassuringly, steering her over to where Hagrid was standing. Hagrid showed them all the boats that they needed to take to get to Hogwarts, "Four te a boat!"

Louise rushed to a boat and Sirius and James followed her. The three were closely followed by a girl who introduced herself as Lauren Kelly. Lauren had blonde hair cut in a bob and a slender figure. Louise was quite pleased to know a girl at Hogwarts, as Sirius had told her that they slept in dormitories and there was one for the girls in their year and one for the boys in their year. Lauren was a half-blood, so she had been able to carry a good conversation with Louise about the non-wizarding world.

The boat took them to Hogwarts, which turned out to be a beautiful old castle that happened to be a magic school. The first years were all ushered inside and were met by a stern looking lady who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress. Professor McGonagall gave them a brief lecture about the four houses (Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin) and how they could earn and lose points for their house. She then announced that they would now be sorted into their houses and opened the door behind her to reveal a large hall (called the Great Hall coincidentally) with bright candles burning on the walls, a starry ceiling and four long tables with students sitting at them. There was also a table at the front of the hall where the staff and headmaster were sitting. It was nothing short of amazing.

The first years stood in a bunch and listened as Professor McGonagall explained how they would be sorted.

"So when I call your name, you come and sit on this stool and I will put the sorting hat on your head. It will decide which house you belong in according to your qualities and you will then go and sit with your new house. Any questions? No, alright then, I will begin. Abernathy, Neil!" she called, and a short, brown haired boy walked up to the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head. After a short pause, the hat roared out, "Hufflepuff!" The boy went and sat at the Hufflepuff table amidst applause and cheers from his house.

"Anthony, Robert!" was next and he was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Black, Sirius!" Professor McGonagall called, and Sirius grimaced nervously before squeezing Louise's hand and walking to the stool, sitting down and letting the professor put the hat onto his head. There was a long pause, in which Louise hoped and prayed that whatever house he was put into was the same one that she was put in. She heard a whisper from beside her, "I never would've thought it," James said grimly, "He's a Black!"

"What does that mean?" she whispered back, frowning.

"The Blacks are a pureblood family who treats everyone not of total wizarding blood like scum. They're probably the dirtiest and worst lot of all the purebloods."

Louise gasped, but refused to believe it, "Sirius is different," she insisted firmly, looking James in the eye, "I just know it!"

James looked doubtful, but he nodded.

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled, and Louise smiled triumphantly at James and the two of them joined in the few cheers that greeted this news. She noticed a lot of dark and angry faces at Slytherin's table which were obviously his relatives. She felt a rush of sympathy for Sirius, whose parents would not be pleased with his new house.

After a few more first years, a "Evans, Lily," was called and she saw James suddenly sit up and nudge her.

"That's her! The one from the train!" he exclaimed, pointing quite rudely, as she pointed out to him, and he immediately withdrew his hand. Lily Evans was sorted into Gryffindor and he gave a contented sigh.

"What?" she asked him, wondering what on earth had suddenly made him so happy.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be in Gryffindor too, so I'll be in her house!" he cried joyfully, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

She shook her head and tutted at his energetic actions.

Lauren was sorted into Gryffindor after several other people had been sorted and Remus Lupin, a boy with sandy hair was sorted into Gryffindor after her. Finally, after, "Malcom, Angela," had been sorted into Slytherin, Professor McGonagall said, "Mitchell, Louise!"

She gritted her teeth, looked beseechingly at James, and stood up and walked to the stool, where Professor McGonagall placed the sorting hat onto her head. She could see Sirius' face from where he sat at Gryffindor's table looking at her hopefully.

_So what do we have here?_ She heard a voice say into her ear, and as she looked around to see who the speaker was, she realized it was the hat.

_A talking hat?_ she thought, hoping it would hear her.

_Yes, I can hear you. Now what house to put you in…?_

_Gryffindor, please._

_Really, why? Oh I see! That is definitely one of the most pathetic reasons to put someone in a house I've heard yet! Yes, you want to be in Gryffindor, though it's best you don't know why yet… _

_Why?_

_I'm not going to tell you so you may as well save your breath. Oh, well, your thoughts then if you're going to be particular. Not Slytherin material, that's for sure. You're not really that cunning and malicious, like your friend._

_My friend?_

_Never mind. Not Hufflepuff either-_

_I've heard Hufflepuff is for the groupies and dumb blondes._

_Which you are not. Precisely, although Hufflepuffs are loyal and you are definitely very loyal because of how you stood up for your friend before. Ravenclaw? Well you are very smart._

_Why thank you, but I would prefer Gryffindor._

_Well if you're going to be that insistent, I guess it had better be… Gryffindor!_

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled loudly to the hall, and she took the hat off, whispered "thanks," and sat down next to Sirius at the Gryffindor table. He was whistling loudly at her arrival and he smiled at her as she sat down.

"Glad you could make it," he remarked proudly, looking her over happily.

"Me too," she replied, looking back at James who was still waiting to be sorted. He gave her a thumbs up and a wide smile.

"Pettigrew, Peter!" A small and plump boy walked up to the stool and was sorted into Gryffindor, much to everyone's surprise because of the way he was shaking and biting his lip nervously.

"Potter, James," was eventually called, and James strode confidently to the stool, and moments later the hat cried out, "Gryffindor!"

Sirius and Louise both applauded loudly as did the rest of their house, apart from Lily Evans, who was sitting opposite Sirius. Said boy glared at her fiercely as he saw her purposefully not clapping for his friend, and from what Louise knew of him he wouldn't forget her rudeness easily.

After the headmaster (Professor Dumbledore) said a few words of welcome and reminded them that the forbidden forest was indeed forbidden, the food appeared and Louise dug in. There were chicken legs dripping with gravy with a variation of vegetables to complement the meal. There were also sandwiches for any vegetarians, which she soon discovered that Lauren was. She personally couldn't understand how anyone could give up eating meat - it was so yummy and nutritious!

Sirius grinned at her while stuffing his face as she was, "'A 'oods 'ood, 'innit?" He asked her with a mouth full of food.

She shook her head at his bad table manners before replying, "Yes, it is. Lovely manners you've got there."

He shrugged his shoulders helplessly in reply.

After dessert, which was chocolate covered strawberries, they were shown to their 'common room' that they were going to be living in for their seven years of schooling at Hogwarts. The boys' dormitories were up the stairs and on the left, while the girls' were up the stairs and on the right. As it was late, they were told by their prefects to go and get ready for bed before a traditional game of truth for the first years.

Louise and Lauren walked up to the girls dormitory together and found that their stuff had been laid out by two beds next to each other. Lily Evans came in a moment later, and the three girls set about getting changed into their pyjamas and lying out their clothes for tomorrow. Louise was glaring at Lily stonily and Lauren, after much prodding from Louise, was doing the same. Lily eventually snapped, "What is your _problem_?" she exclaimed suddenly, getting sick of their looks.

"You're a complete bitch, that's the problem," Louise answered coolly, staring her down while she folded up her clothes neatly and put them into her portion of the closet.

"Excuse me?!" Lily hissed, now returning the girl's look.

"You fully ignored my friend in the sorting and from what I hear you were really rude to him when you saw him on the train. Hear this now, Lily Evans; nobody messes with my friends and gets away with it lightly," Louise replied, now finished with her clothes. She took a threatening step towards the angry redhead.

"Ooh, I'm _so_ scared," Lily mocked, walking up to Louise, "He was being an arrogant git, that's why. Not that I owe _you_ an explanation."

Louise tutted and turned to face Lauren, who had stayed silent during the whole exchange, "C'mon Lauren, let's go find our _friends_. Unlike some people we actually have them."

And with that, she walked out of the room, Lauren following close behind her.

The two girls met Sirius and James down in the common room, where they were making a circle for the game. She was sitting next to Lauren and Sirius and the boys introduced her to their other two roommates, Remus Lupin, who she noticed Lauren took an immediate liking to, as he was as quiet and reserved as she was, and Peter Pettigrew.

"Yeah I saw that too," Sirius remarked, glaring at Lily Evans' figure as she walked slowly down the stairs to sit next to Remus, "Was she giving you any hassle, Lou?"

"A little," she admitted, leaning closer to him, "Are you any good at pranking?"

He smirked, "Yeah. James too."

She smiled back, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, B1?"

"What the hell?" Sirius interrupted, looking at her curiously, "B1?"

With a jolt she remembered that he was pureblood, "Don't worry, it's a non-magic thing."

"Right. But I think I am, Lou," he said.

The game began with the prefects introducing themselves. "I'm Betsy and this is Jake, my co-prefect. You can come to us with any questions you might have, or you can ask your head girl, Verona Wilde of Ravenclaw, or your head boy, George Griffins from our amazing house. Alright now, I'll start by spinning this, and it's landed on… you darling, what's your name?"

"Lauren."

"Okay then. Lauren, what's your favourite colour?"

"What a dumb question," Sirius sniggered quietly to Louise, who nodded in agreement and turned back to the game.

"Blue." Lauren answered, before reaching out and turning the spinner, "James, um, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope," James said, shaking his head, "I'm the one and only." He spun, "Ah, Remus. What's your favourite muggle show? You're half blood, right?"

_Wow_, thought Lauren, _same as me!_

"Home and Away," the boy replied, blushing, "It's addictive."

Lauren squealed, "Me too!"

"Really?" he asked, grinning. He spun and got Sirius, "What's your favourite food?"

Sirius sighed, "Now that's a toughie. I would have to say pizza."

Louise nodded approvingly, "Good choice," she remarked.

Sirius got Louise, "Lou, what's your favourite movie?"

"Star Wars!" she said passionately, "It's amazing, but you've probably never seen it 'cause it's not magic."

His eyes widened, "But everyone's seen Star Wars! It's awesome!"

She smiled broadly, "Don't you just love the bit when-"

"-Anakin and-"

"-Obi Wan have that big-"

"-Fight!" Sirius finished, grinning happily at her, "Yay! A fellow Star Wars fan!"

"Too right!" Louise grinned back, "The force is strong in this one." She spun, and her lips curved into a wicked smirk, "What's your worst fear?" she asked, addressing Lily.

Lily glared at her, "I'm not scared of anything," she replied confidently, but the spinner glowed bright blue and Betsy tutted, "Tell the truth please girls!"

"Fine then," Lily glowered, "I'm scared of heights. So what?"

"Nothing," Louise replied innocently, smiling faintly at her, while nudging Sirius and murmuring, "Remember that."

Lily spun, "Peter, what's your favourite subject?"

"Um," Peter stuttered, "I don't like school. I'm no good at it."

"I'm sure you are," Betsy soothed, packing the magical spinner away, "There, now it's time for bed. In the morning go down to the Great Hall (that's where we had dinner) for breakfast and you will be given your timetables. Your timetables will tell you which subject you have at what time and where to go to get to your classroom. Remember, if you have any questions, see me, Jake, a teacher or one of your heads. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" Lily chorused politely, her smile becoming strained as she realized that no one else had spoken. The others were all staring at her in amusement, "Freak," Sirius hissed after Betsy and Jake had gone up to their dormitories, pushing her purposefully towards the wall, "This isn't the last you'll see of us," he warned, before letting her go and striding up the staircase to where Louise was waiting.

"Night," he murmured, hugging her before going into the boys' dormitory. Lauren came up behind her, "I think he likes you," she said smugly, winking at her friend.

Louise laughed, "I don't think so. Besides, I've got a boyfriend at home. Nah, Sirius is just a friend."

Sirius winced. He had been listening at his door and was not happy with what he had heard. He vowed to himself that one day, one day she would be his girl.

Meanwhile, Lily was waiting on the staircase behind Lauren and Louise. The two girls were happily chatting away and did not seem to care that they were blocking her way up the stairs. She would have made a sharp remark and demanded that they move immediately, were it not for Sirius' threat moments ago. As it was, she waited patiently for them to move into their dormitory.

Louise glanced back and saw her, "Oh sorry!" she said, gushing with fake remorse, "Are we in your way?"

Lily nodded, her impatient nature getting the best of her, "Yes you are. _Please_ move."

"That wasn't very nice," Louise remarked, folding her arms across her chest, "Would you like to try again?"

Lily narrowed her eyes, "Move!" she said bossily, hoping the girls would back down.

"You're forgetting your manners," Lauren said strongly. Louise smiled at her; this was the first time she had really spoken out.

"I won't do it," Lily said stubbornly, folding her arms as well, "Just let me in the dormitory!"

"Uh-uh," Louise tutted, shaking her head at her enemy, "I don't think so, _bitch_."

"Don't call me that, _slut_!" Lily retorted nastily.

"You think I'm a slut," Louise said, laughing.

"I saw the way you were throwing yourself at Sirius back there. It's obvious where you're headed," Lily said, her voice dripping with spite.

"It's called being friendly, Evans," Louise mocked, bouncing back from the low insult Lily had thrown at her, "Just because you don't have any doesn't mean other people don't."

Lily sighed, deciding to swallow her pride, "I'm sorry. Please excuse me and let me past?" she said, looking at the ground in embarrassment.

"No need," Louise smirked, "We were just going anyway."

Lily scowled at her. She just couldn't win!

"Fine!" she said stoutly, before following Louise and Lauren into the dormitory. As she was the last one in, she turned out the light. She thought she heard a short cry of shock, but she decided she was mistaken. After all, neither of those two girls was scared enough to be afraid of the dark. Little did she know Louise had already confided her fears to Lauren and the latter had grabbed her hand as she saw Lily's hand on the light switch and lead her to her bed. She tucked her in, muttered, "Sweet dreams," and slipped into her own bed, thinking about the events of that day and looking forward to tomorrow.

* * *

**Hi everyone!!**

**Now before I start rambling, I'd just like to say that I have another fic in progress, _Everyone's Getting Love Today_, so I'll be updating pretty much every other week. Please review and it will make me update faster:) ****Feel free to give me constructive criticism because I know my writing needs a lot of work. I'm only 14 after all.**

**About this story: **

**-Yes, it's going to be Sirius/Louise, James/Lily and Remus/Lauren. Glad we got that sorted.**

**-They aren't going to hate Lily forever. That's all I'm going to say. And before anyone asks, James does like Lily and he probably will stand up for her at some point, but he's just made friends and he doesn't want to lose Sirius and Louise's friendship by siding with someone they don't like.**

**-I'm sorry Louise is being so bitchy!! And yes, she has my name but she sure acts way too feisty for me. I gave her my dream Marauder though, and I love Star Wars too. D**

**So that's the story in a nutshell. Hope you all liked the first chapter - I know it was real boring but it will get better, I promise!! Mini poll: Do you want me to keep writing her years at Hogwarts (all of them) or do you want me to skip to her seventh year and briefly explain what's happened in the time missed?**

**Thanks,**

**Baby seal**


	2. Girl's Night In

Louise smiled wryly as she remembered how she had first come to Hogwarts. So much had changed since her first look at the castle that was to be her home for seven years. Well, six of those had already gone by, and she was preparing for her final year at Hogwarts.

The car stopped, and she got out cautiously, taking her last look at King's Cross Station. She opened the boot of the car and got out her trunk and her owl, Nathalie. She had wanted to change her owl's name when she had found her supposedly best friend making out with Andy in her second year summer holidays, but Nathalie the owl hadn't answered to anything else.

"Oh, _Lou_," her mother, Claire, sighed, getting out of the other door, running to her and holding her close.

"I'll miss you," she replied sincerely, hugging her mother back.

"Have fun," Claire replied, her eyes, Louise noticed, were rather wet.

"Yeah, I will. See you in the summer break!" Louise called back, having grabbed a trolley and dumped her trunk in it. She began wheeling it away, looking back over her shoulder to where Claire was watching and waving goodbye. She felt so sorry for her mother, who was all alone when she was off at school. Her father had left when she was only two, and she was an only child so her mother was lonely and had never really found a man to take Louise's father's place.

"Can I take that for you?" a deep, jokey voice asked her from behind. She felt strong hands pinch her sides and she jumped, as she always did when Sirius Black did that to her. And he did it often.

She smiled brightly at him, "Hey! Where's James?" James and Sirius were still the best of friends, and at the end of fifth year, Sirius had had enough of his pureblood power crazy family, and had run away and gone to live with the Potters.

Sirius and Louise had been going out ever since then, as she had been visiting James at the time, and when he had half run, half stumbled through their door, his clothes in tatters, she had been there to hug him. In a moment of rare inspiration, she had decided to hell with tact, and kissed him then and there. They had a wonderful relationship and Sirius, who had turned into quite the ladies man in previous years, had never cheated on her, as far as she knew. And she knew a lot.

Lauren, Lily and herself were extremely popular among the teenagers at Hogwarts. They were a close knit group and, yes, Lily was their friend. About a month into their first year at Hogwarts, a prank on her had gone wrong, and the three girls had stayed up long into the night changing their opinions about each other and becoming good friends which they were to this day.

"Here!" James called, coming up on the other side of Louise, "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing," she replied, hugging him as well as she could with their cumbersome trolleys in the way, "So who made Head Boy?"

James smirked, pointing to the shiny 'HB' badge on his chest, "I am _so_ gonna get Lily this year."

James and Lily, however, were non-existent. James had fancied her ever since they had met on the train, and Lily still did not reciprocate these feelings. She hadn't managed to get many dates at Hogwarts, because of one James Potter who had pranked every single guy who he thought had the slightest bit of interest in her. It was widely known that a lot of guys liked her, but she had never gotten the chance to date them. This was one of the reasons why she didn't particularly like James.

The boys were still pranking, too. The four of them: James, Sirius, Remus and Peter, had formed a group called the Marauders and played pranks on the whole school. They had nicknames too, but why this was Louise did not know. James' nickname was Prongs, Sirius' Padfoot, Remus' Moony and Peter's Wormtail.

"No, Lily's so gonna kill you this year," she answered smartly, "Anyway, how'd you manage Head Boy?"

Sirius snorted derisively, "Dumbledore had a bit much booze this time, I think."

She looked down at his chest, "Quidditch Captain? Well done!"

They were by this time at the barrier between platform nine and platform ten, where Sirius and Louise had met seven years ago. James ran through first, with Sirius and Louise following behind him.

"Lou!" Lauren squealed as she saw her friend coming through the barrier and standing in front of the Hogwarts Express.

"Lorrie!" Louise replied in kind, running over to her and hugging her, "I missed you so much!"

"Yeah ditto," Lauren said, walking alongside Louise, Sirius and James, "And Sirius! Quidditch Captain! I knew you'd get it! Only thing is - you'd better not load us up with as many practices as Hartley did. Oh, and do I have to call you Black now?"

"Whoa," Sirius said, overwhelmed, holding up his hands, "Thanks, I can't promise anything about the practices just yet, and no you don't you can call me Sirius."

"Awesome," she said, beaming at him, "So when are the tryouts?"

"Second Saturday of term," he replied, "But you'll be sure to get onto the team with your keeping skill."

Lauren was the Gryffindor Quidditch team's Keeper, and had been for the last five years, as first years were not allowed to be on the team. Sirius was a Beater and now the captain, and James was a Chaser. Louise, Lily, Remus and Peter all came to watch their games as good Gryffindor supporters, but did not much like the game themselves.

"Let's go and find a compartment, shall we?" James suggested, "If we go now, we'll be able to get one of the bigger ones that'll fit all of us."

The others nodded their agreement, and they all unloaded their trunks off their trolleys and got on the train. They found Lily, Remus and Peter waiting for them in one of the big compartments.

"Lils!" the two girls cried happily, rushing over to talk to Lily about her summer, while, "Moony! Wormtail!" James and Sirius said, looking pleased to see their other good friends. Once they had all greeted each other, they began talking rapidly together.

"Hey Lilyflower!" James said warmly, grinning at Lily and taking a seat next to her. She scowled at him and scooted away from him so that she was practically on Remus' lap.

"So you're Head Boy, right?" she asked Remus, peering at the front of his robes, searching for the Head Boy badge.

Remus shook his head pityingly at her, "Erm- well, I mean-"

"You're not Head Boy?!" she burst out incredulously, "Oh Remus, I'm so sorry! I thought it would be you!"

"Ah, Lily," James said nervously, clearing his throat so that she turned to stare at him, "Um, I may just know who the Head Boy is."

"Who?"

"You're looking at him."

She jumped in surprise, "Surely you can't mean…"

Louise smiled sympathetically at her, "Sorry Lily, James really is the Head Boy."

"You! How in the name of Merlin did _you_ become Head Boy?!" Lily ranted, looking at him incredulously, "You weren't even a prefect last year! This isn't fair! And-" here she gasped "-I have to share the heads dorm with you! For a whole year!"

James looked at his hands which were resting in his lap, "Thanks, Lily," he said in a small voice, obviously hurt by her cruel words.

Lily looked at him disbelievingly, "That's it? No clever, witty comeback to save your oh-so-precious reputation? I'm disappointed, Potter," she finished, standing up and walking out of the compartment.

Everyone else offered him sympathetic looks until finally he stood up and joined her to go and talk to the prefects.

"Hey Remus?" Louise said tentatively, breaking the depressed silence that had hung in the air in the compartment when Lily had begun yelling, "I'm assuming you're still the Gryffindor male prefect, right?"

"Yeah," Remus replied dumbly, obviously feeling sorry for James, "We need to go to the meeting now, don't we?"

She nodded, "C'mon."

She was Lily's replacement as the Gryffindor prefect, much to her surprise, as she had done a fair bit of rule breaking while at Hogwarts although not as much, admittedly, as the Marauders had done. Remus had been the Gryffindor male prefect last year as well, and he was the obvious choice because he was the least rule breaking of the Marauders.

When Remus and Louise got to the prefects' compartment, they could hear yelling.

"Ten galleons it's Lily," Louise said jokingly, her hand on the doorhandle.

Remus shook his head, "No bet. It's Lily alright."

"Why do you say that?" she asked curiously.

"Well, you see," Remus said, beginning to explain, "James has grown up. Over the summer holidays he finally realized what any of us, bar Sirius, could have told him six years ago - he's too immature for Lily. He's grown up, Lou. He's dumped all his sort of-maybe girlfriends and he's decided to go for Lily and only Lily. I only hope that she realizes he's changed."

Her face was a picture; she knew it. James Potter, the cocky, arrogant boy who was always off pranking Snivellus or hitting on Lily, matured? She hadn't ever thought she would see the day!

Sure enough, when they went inside, it was Lily who had been yelling at James for basically no reason. Louise just blinked and looked at Remus and nodded.

* * *

The three girls met in their dormitory for their traditional late night girlie talk after Lily had finished with the first year truth game. Lily would have to sleep in the head's dorm from now on, but they had decided not to let that stop them having their usual girls night. Louise had the manicure sets out and ready to go, and Lauren had just finished making several natural face masks for them to use.

"So…" Lauren began, a smile creeping onto her face, "I think Lily has a crush."

Lily blushed, "No, I don't!" she said, waving her hands in front of her.

Louise smirked, "You're in denial," she teased.

"Please just tell us," Lauren pleaded, applying an avocado mask to Lily's face, "We won't tell anyone, promise!"

Lily bit her lip, "Maybe. Maybe later. Anyways, how's it going with Amos?" she asked Lauren, sighing as she felt the brush against her face and the cool, wetness of the face mask on her pores.

"We broke up," Lauren said simply, brushing slightly harder.

"Aw, Lorrie!" the other two chorused, looking sadly at her.

"Yeah, I know. No guy I get into a relationship with stays with me past the physical stuff," Lauren stated firmly, bracing herself for the torrent of questions that would be sure to follow.

"Merlin, Lorrie! You didn't…"

"Did you?"

"Oh my gosh! You _did_!"

"What was it like?"

"Was he gentle?"

"Did it hurt?"

"It wasn't what I expected it to be," she said, feeling tears track their way down her face, "But then, next day comes and he dumps me. I mean whatever, it's not like I cared."

They hugged her then, and held her while she cried brokenly. Lily broke away from the hug abruptly, but returned after looking over her shoulder curiously.

"Did anyone else hear that?" she asked them. They shook their heads, confused.

"It's just, I thought I heard something. But I must've been wrong."

Louise, however, looked angry. "I should've known," she muttered furiously, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Lou, what are you doing?" she heard Lily ask quizzically.

"You don't want to know," she warned, but Lily came to stand beside her, "What is it?" Lily asked again, peering curiously at the door, which was slightly open, "Hang on… I'm sure I closed that when I came in," she said suspiciously.

Louise felt around in the air just in front of the door, before triumphantly pulling something translucent and shimmery off James Potter and Sirius Black.

"You two are the biggest idiots I've ever had the misfortune to meet!" she screamed furiously, throwing James' cloak in his face.

Lily glared at them, "You have an Invisibility Cloak? That explains a lot."

"Have you eavesdropped on these before?" Louise continued, her face red with fury.

Sirius shook his head, "No, we just thought-"

"No you didn't! That's the _problem_! You never think! You weren't thinking about Lauren, how do you think she feels now? Oh yes, that's right, you don't think!"

"By the way," James interrupted lazily, a smirk crossing his face, "Who does Lily have a crush on? I was wondering, see-"

"James Potter! You are a cocky, arrogant, bullying git!" she screamed, enraged by his apparent calm demeanour, "Remus said you'd grown up, but I guess he was wrong."

That got to him; you could see it.

"Well _sorry_, little miss high and mighty!" he retorted sarcastically, scowling at her, "So we eavesdropped. Sorry. Who cares?"

"Who cares?!" she yelled disbelievingly, "I care! Lily cares and Lauren cares! And you should too!"

"Lou, we said-" Sirius began, obviously trying to explain their point of view which was not very wise, seeing how worked up she was.

"I don't care what you said, but I'm saying we're over!" she finished, stamping her foot to emphasise her point.

Sirius just gaped at her, like he had just been punched in the gut.

"Louise, don't you think you're overreacting just a-" James started, trying to redeem the situation.

"No, I don't," she replied coldly, not really understanding the full impact of what she was saying, "In fact, this may just be the best decision in my life." She turned to Sirius now, "I thought I knew you. I thought you were different from your family, but I guess I was wrong."

It was a low blow. "Lou!" James exclaimed, outraged at her cruel words. Sirius just stood there, taking it numbly, "I'm sorry Lou," he got out eventually, "C'mon Prongs, let's go." And with that, the two boys disappeared down to the common room on their brooms.

Louise was left standing there next to Lily, whose face mask was beginning to drip off her face onto the floor, wondering how her life had just gotten so much more complicated.

* * *

**So... a few reviews would be nice (hint, hint!) I decided to skip to seventh year, as you will be able to see. Hope you liked this chapter too!**

**Going back on what I said last chapter... my story might not be Remus/Lauren... but then again, it might be. Heh.**

**Thanks to my reviewers!**

**Baby seal**


	3. Hogwarts' Latest Couple

Sirius sighed heavily, awkwardly perched on the edge of his four poster bed, "I just don't get it!"

James looked sympathetic, "I'm sorry mate."

Remus raised an eyebrow, "You should be," he lectured sternly, shaking his head at the pair of Marauders, "You were listening in on their private conversation."

Sirius bit his lip, "Yeah I know, but nobody's perfect! I've never done anything like that before! I just _don't_ get it!"

"Love is never easy," Remus said wisely, hoping the other two would grow up a bit more.

James sprang up abruptly, "I've got it! Oh Merlin, I've got it!"

It was Sirius' turn to raise a sceptical eyebrow, "What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Well, I mean, you're not gonna let her go without a fight, are you?" James challenged, pacing back and forth across the floor of the boys' dormitory.

"What do you think?" Sirius retorted, "I'm Sirius Black, Prongs! Girls dig me," he finished smugly, "I'll just make her jealous."

James deflated considerably, "Actually," he began, preparing to contradict his friend, but that was as far as he got.

Sirius jumped up and began running out of their dorm, "Thanks James!" he said brightly in passing him and he didn't stop running until he reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common rooms. He knocked on the portrait firmly, and did not even flinch as he heard a sweet, melodic voice call out.

"What is beauty?"

He fought back a witty retort and settled with, "Kindness and compassion."

"Well thought out answer, Mr Black," the voice responded, and he saw the portrait door swing open.

He stepped into the well lit room and closed the portrait behind him. He walked over to a couple of young girls who were staring at him with something akin to adoration.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted them pleasantly, nodding at them encouragingly.

He could've sworn one of them was about to faint, the way she half-swooned into the back of the armchair just behind where she was standing, "Hi Sirius," she simpered girlishly, batting her eyelashes at him in an attempt to flirt. "I'm Annie. Annie Fletcher."

He pushed back the urge to gag and smiled at her, "I'm looking for Vérona Blaire?"

One of them, a short brunette, ran up the stairs and went off to the girls dormitories to find Vérona. She came back a short while later, followed by a tall, slender blonde seventh year girl. Her name was Vérona Blaire and she was part veela which attributed to her French roots. She had a well shaped face, with big and bright blue eyes and dark eyelashes. Her nose was the right shape for her face and she sported a small, subtly glossed kissable mouth that gave her a sexy yet refined look. She, like many popular girls, had a very prominent bust and hips. Her eyes widened as she spotted Sirius standing, ogling her, in her own common room.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked, sounding concerned, but she was not at all worried because she was not on the best terms with Louise Mitchell. The seventh year Gryffindor had often bested her in school tests and exams although it was Vérona who was the Ravenclaw. Although Louise did not mean to, Vérona always felt like she boasted about her superior mind and, in recent years, that she was dating the oh-so-irresistible and dateable Sirius Black.

He forced himself to grin at her, although he did not feel happy, "She's gone, and good riddance, I say! Bit too bitchy for my liking," he remarked, satisfying his need to boost his currently fragile ego.

She smirked, "I knew she'd never last," she said dismissively, closing the distance between the two of them. The giggly girls from before were clustered around them, watching wide-eyed as the scene unfolded.

"So who's your current beau?" he asked, knowing she would understand what he was about.

"Oh… Harry Fletcher," Vérona said, tilting her head to one side, "But he can be taken care of."

Sirius grinned suggestively, and within a second they were kissing fiercely, her arms running through his black hair and resting on the back of his neck, and his on her waist.

She pulled back, "So it's done?" she asked him, reaching out a finger and wiping a trace of lipstick off his cheek.

He nodded in satisfaction, "Yeah, it's done."

* * *

That morning was one of the hardest of her life. When she got down to breakfast, she knew people were staring at her puffy red eyes and the colossal bags under them. She had stayed up long into the night, fussing and worrying about her abrupt end to her and Sirius' relationship. Had it really been worth it to break it off with him over something this futile and pathetic?

She was so out of it that she didn't notice Lily telling her to "Pass the milk, Lou!" until her cries were loud and heard by three of the Marauders entering the hall at that moment. Remus strode purposefully towards her, James and Peter close behind.

"I just want you to know," he said upon reaching where she sat, "That whatever happens this morning was nothing to do with me. Please don't be too mad, and if you are please don't be mad at Peter and I because we've done nothing!"

She frowned at him suspiciously, "Remus, what's going to happen? What have those two idiots done?"

"Hey!" James exclaimed from behind her, "I resent that!"

She threw him a scornful glare and turned back to her conversation with Remus, "Did they tell you what they did?"

Remus cringed. That told her all she needed to know, except for one thing, "Even about Lauren?"

She hoped very much that they hadn't told Remus about Lauren's deflowering, as he was a very protective boy. Sweet, but protective nonetheless, and if he knew about Amos' careless treatment of Lauren, he would set out to teach Diggory a lesson. And that was exactly what she didn't want.

"Nooo," he replied, shaking his head, "So what about Lauren?"

He was trying to be casual; that much was obvious. He wasn't succeeding very well because Louise could tell from a mile off that he fancied her madly. She, however, didn't reciprocate these feelings, Louise knew, and pursued more bad boy type guys like Amos Diggory and Tom Jones that didn't love her at all, they only wanted her for her body. Her body was, admittedly, very developed and voluptuous and she sported a mean bust measurement that attracted a lot of drooling male attention.

Lily bit her lip; she did _not_ want to tell him and she knew Lauren wouldn't want her to.

"Ahh nothing." She was being evasive on purpose - he knew it and she knew that he knew it too.

"What happened to Lauren?" he said, his voice growing slightly higher than he had intended for it to as he spoke.

Lily and Lauren had now realized what he was saying, and fortunately they came to her rescue with a few well-aimed retorts.

"It's her secret, she'll tell you when she's ready."

"Remember you have one too," Lily said, warning him _of what_? Louise asked herself in confusion. What did Lily know about Remus that she and Lauren (who was looking as confused as she) did not?

She saw her redheaded friend's remark hit home as Remus winced, and his eyes slid warily towards Lauren and herself. She pursed her lips at him, and she could see that he had gotten the message; she didn't like the fact that he was keeping something from her, but she wasn't going to press him to tell her.

Just then, a loud voice echoed throughout the Great Hall, a voice magnified by the use of a _sonorus _charm. A voice belonging to one James Potter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, make way for Hogwart's latest couple, Sirius Black and Vérona Blaire!"

Immediately, Louise saw Lily, Lauren, Remus instinctively look towards her with looks of sympathy and anger in their eyes. A second or two later, the Great Hall erupted into cheers or booes depending on whether they liked Louise or Vérona better.

For they could now see Sirius and Vérona having a very heated make-out session at the doors. They looked perfect together, she thought resentfully. His shaggy black hair complimented her golden complexion, lighting up her brilliant blue eyes. Even their robes looked stunning together, even though Vérona's were the standard girl's robes, and exactly the same as hers.

She could hardly see them now; her salty tears were blinding her. She had to get out, get away from all the stares, from Sirius… unfaithful Sirius, who had sworn never to leave her side, who had deserted her the day after she had broken their relationship off. She had thought that he would never go back to being the womanizer he had been before her. She had been wrong, she knew that now. She had been foolish to think otherwise. She wondered idly how many other affairs he had been involved in while she had thought they had been in love. She had no way of knowing that Sirius _had_ been faithful to her throughout their relationship, and was only doing this to get back at her and make her jealous. Unfortunately, or fortunately (it was unsure which) for them, it was succeeding.

She ran towards the doors fast; she had always been a decent runner. She noticed with a jealous pang that Vérona was moaning loudly and blissfully, which evoked a sense of anger from somewhere within her. As Sirius and that - that _slut_ - were taking up most of the space in the doorway, she had to somehow squeeze past them to exit the Great Hall. If she had been calm, she would have easily been able to slip by unnoticed by the pair completely, but she was not. She was angry and resentful and jealous and hurt and so she was in no mood to simply slip by. She barged directly into Vérona's back, causing her to stumble forward and the two broke apart, moaning (a pained moan) and touching their lips gingerly.

She could see Sirius' look of satisfaction; he had gotten to her. She couldn't see Vérona's face but she had a very good idea that it would be looking pouty and tender. She knew the girl harboured no good feelings towards her because of Louise's somewhat conceited attitude around her. The truth was - she was jealous of the Ravenclaw's brains and beauty, which was about exactly equal to her own. She knew somehow that Sirius had chosen Vérona specially to make her feel even worse. Well, it was working; she felt like she had just been hit with a ton of bricks and the fact that she was tired made it even worse.

She couldn't speak through the lump in her throat and even if she had been able to, she probably wouldn't have. She couldn't give him the satisfaction.

She just ran and ran, and she didn't stop running until she had run right up to the Astronomy Tower and collapsed in a sobbing heap on the cold stone floor. She couldn't understand what he had done. The day after she had broken up with him - the _day_ after - he had gone and become one of the most popular girls in the school - and a girl who detested Louise and she felt likewise - and hooked up with her! Had he no shame? She couldn't believe she had been fool enough to go out with him; he had probably been having secret affairs and laughing with his little whores behind her back! And James… she had thought those two were her friends! They had been her first magical friends and she had naїvely assumed it would always stay that way. Of course they had had their moments, but wasn't that to be expected? Rest assured, nothing this major had ever happened. She didn't know if she would ever be able to look Sirius in the eyes again without blacking them until they were so heavily bruised that… she couldn't even think that far. She felt so pathetic, sprawled out across the icy stone floor of the tower, crying over a boy that had yesterday been her boyfriend.

She just lay there, tears streaming from her half-closed eyes, reminiscing the good times she had had with Sirius. She lay there for a long time, until the sun had gone down and she could feel a cool breeze from outside on her skin.

Then she heard noises, and she sat up quickly, pulling her cloak tighter around herself, shivering as she realized how cold it was and how long she had been out there for.

"Oh, _Lauren_!" She heard a boy's voice say in a rapturous voice. Her face crumpled as she realized that her friend was having yet another brief and not terribly romantic one night stand with a boy she probably didn't know. When Lauren would grow up, she didn't know, but she wished she would hurry up and get over her longing to be touched and loved.

The two lovers had not yet entered the tower's room that overlooked the grounds of Hogwarts, but she knew it would not be long until they did. She hadn't meant to stay out there so long, for she knew that the Astronomy Tower was a prominent place for couples to safely hook up without having to worry about Filch finding them, as he did not often venture out there.

She sat quietly, as still as a mouse, but she could not help but let a horrified gasp leave her lips as she heard her friend's reply:

"Merlin, James!"

* * *

**Oooh, and the plot thickens yet again...**

**Sorry, but that just _had_ to happen! Did you like it? Hate it? Review and tell me all about it!**

**xx**

**Baby seal**


	4. That Chance

"_Merlin, James!"_

She was completely and utterly thunderstruck. James and Lauren? They could never work - James had Lily and Lauren was too slutty to stay with him. She felt a pang of guilt as she realized that she really thought of her friend as a slut and was also annoyed that she had chosen Sirius' side in their broken relationship by hooking up with his best friend. She had always considered James as a good friend and nothing more, but evidently Lauren had other ideas. Or maybe this was just for her own benefit, for Lauren to teach her a lesson. She had thought Lauren would always stick by her side, always! But it seemed she was wrong.

"Lauren?" she called softly into the darkness, "James?"

A muffled grunt answered her, and then, "Shit! Who's there?"

"It's me," she replied, the shock evident in her voice. She crawled closer to where she knew the exit was, cursing quietly as she stubbed her toe on a protruding nail.

"Go away, whoever you are," Lauren's voice replied, drunkenly slurred, "We're busy."

"Lauren, do you really think you should be doing this?" she said, reaching the exit, "And James, shouldn't you be with Sirius? What about Lily?"

"Who the fuck is this?" James' voice called loudly, his voice low and hoarse which clearly gave away what they had been up to.

"It's Louise," she whispered, even quieter now. She was sure they could hardly hear her at all, "Stop it… please."

"Double shit," Lauren's sneering voice was a painful blow to her side. She could hear her heart beating double time. What was Lauren saying? It was as if it wasn't even Lauren fucking James in the Astronomy Tower anymore. She couldn't imagine even Lauren stooping that low.

"Sod off, loser," James said, obviously exasperated that she hadn't yet gotten the message, "Just because you can't get any doesn't mean you can stop other people having a good time."

"Bastard!" she hissed angrily, her insides twisting painfully as their cruel, taunting words hit her hard and sank in, "I thought we were friends!"

"You thought wrong," Lauren said acidly, running a hand idly down James' muscular bare chest provocatively, "So now we've got that sorted, can you _please_ leave?"

She stood, her whole body shaking in anger and confusion, "What did I _do_?"

James snorted, "Oh, I think you have a fair idea," he commented archly, his eyes cold and full of malice. She turned to Lauren now, in bewilderment, "Lauren," she beseeched, "I think I have a right to know what I did to make you hate me."

"Whore," was all she got in response. Hurt, she turned on her heel and ran for the second time that day. She didn't stop running until she got to Gryffindor Tower and she then ran up to the seventh year boys' dormitory.

"Sirius Black!" she shouted angrily, watching in frustration as he slowly stood up from his bed where he had been doing his homework. He raised his eyebrows and smirked at her smugly, obviously enjoying her pain.

"Hey, love," he greeted casually.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What have you been _telling_ people about me?!"

"Just the truth, darling, just the truth." He ran a hand through his casually messy hair, letting it cascade down his neck lazily.

"And what's that?"

He grinned at her innocently, "About your sexuality," he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"That I'm straight?" she said, knowing he had told them something false out of spite, "Cause that doesn't explain why Lauren and James are calling me a whore."

"The truth, love," he explained, his eyes bright, "That you're bi. Oh, and also the whole thing about you trying it on with Vérona after already having me in the same night."

Her scream of rage deafened whatever else it was he was trying to say.

He held up his hands, "Whoa. Touchy, touchy woman!"

"That is not the truth and you know it," she said through clenched teeth, once again trembling with rage, "Take it back!"

"No, I don't think I will." He smiled, obviously enjoying himself, "Unless…"

"Unless what, Black?" She snapped, her hands on her hips. She was _sick_ of Sirius _bloody_ Black and his _bloody_ arrogance and all his lies that people actually believed because he was Sirius Black and everybody looked up to him like he was some kind of saint.

"You come back," he finished simply, tilting his head to one side as if asking her a question. Which, in a way he was.

"You!" she spluttered indignantly, "I can't believe- the nerve!"

"Consider it," he said, looking comfortable where he stood. He was, because he wasn't going to lose his reputation over this situation whatever Louise decided. She had to think now, if she gave into his demand, she would be forfeiting her values because she had strong principles about not getting back together with your ex. But if she didn't, the whole school would believe his lies and her friends would believe the worst of her. She was a bit shocked that they had believed Sirius so easily, considering she had just dumped him. Lauren had always been a bit fickle like that, she told herself, trying not to believe it. Try as she might, she couldn't quite shake off the suspicion that Lauren had _wanted_ to believe Sirius.

"The reason I fell in love with you," she began slowly, wondering if this was the right thing to do. She had to try and persuade him not to make her choose, "Was because of how nice you are to most people, bar Slytherins and because of how nice you are to _me_. I'm still angry about what you did last night and it went against both reasons why I went out with you. So why shouldn't I break up with you if you destroyed the fundamental reasons why I loved you? You listened in at our door and that wasn't nice to Lauren and Lily and it wasn't nice to me either. You went against our relationship, Sirius, and I can't just forget that."

He frowned now, his brows furrowed as he considered this, "But then you dumped me without even listening to my side of the story," he countered, his face still relaxed but his eyes clearly showing the seriousness of his words, "You didn't give me a chance to explain any of it. I need that chance - just _five minutes_, Lou!"

"There's nothing to say," she said, "It's over."

"But-"

"Let it _go_, Sirius!"

The harsh tone of her voice echoed around the room as they stared at each other in sudden mutual dislike. Sirius resented her for not giving him time to explain why he had listened into their sleepover, and Louise loathed him for the rumours he had spread about her and the cruel situation he was putting her in.

He reached out hesitantly and placed his warm, large hand on her cheek, "How did this happen?" he breathed slowly, "We were so good together."

She pushed his hand away and turned around, meaning to go out the door. She needed to sleep and cry, neither of which she could do comfortably around her now ex-boyfriend.

His gentle touch on her hand stopped her; when their hands brushed together it felt like something akin to an electric shock and it had the effect of stopping her movement. A moment later she felt him enclose her in his toned body, rocking her slowly from side to side.

"Sirius," she murmured softly, trying to shake off the feeling of what it felt like to be in his arms again, "We can't do this."

"Who says?" he replied, breathing lightly on the lobe of her ear, "We've always been the ones to break the rules. Why should now be any different?"

Every muscle in her body strained against this; she didn't, couldn't do this! They didn't belong together, she had proved that last night. And Vérona…

"What about _her_?"

He knew instantly who she was talking about and he laughed softly, a bark like laugh, "I'm sorry about that, love. I had to see if you cared about letting me go. If you hadn't, I would've let you go as you'd tried to do with me. I don't love her, if that helps," he added softly, the protests dying on her lips, "Nowhere near as much as I love you."

She was weakening - they both knew it. "And the rumours?"

"Like smoke in the wind, Lou. I can break 'em as soon as I make 'em." He was going to win this, he was positive.

"Do you promise you won't listen again?" She was sure she would stop him here. There was no way in hell he would-

"Yes," he whispered, "I won't ever, _ever_ do that again."

Maybe he would, then. Maybe it had all just been a misunderstanding, blown out of proportion by her anger and shock.

She hesitated, debating her answer. "Maybe," she ventured cautiously and she lost all her trains of thought when he whirled her round, delighted with her answer and without a second thought, pressed his gorgeously soft lips to hers. She was so taken by surprise that she didn't respond for a second or two, but when she did it was fervent. She leaned forward, inhaling his deep scent and deepened the kiss. His arms wrapped around her waist firmly as she let her hands tangle in his mess of hair. Most of the girls at Hogwarts would tell anyone that Sirius Black was an amazing kisser, mostly for attention. But this did not mean that it wasn't true, as she had discovered when she had been with him. She hadn't even realized how much she missed his presence, his light bantering and ability to make her laugh. She had been overreacting, hadn't she? It was hard convincing herself otherwise, with her lips entwined with his and her arms running through his hair.

She was surprised when he didn't pull back, but in fact gently steered her towards his bed, roughly throwing his half-done homework onto the floor and laying her onto the bed. With one light movement, he was on top of her. She gasped, still not sure.

"C'mon Lou," he encouraged with a reckless abandon that she found slightly unnerving, "Live a little."

She was still uncertain, but not about this. She was seventeen now, and she wanted this. Just - did she want Sirius to be _the one_? He seemed to read this in her face, because he grinned, "I'll play nice," he promised, smirking.

She sighed, "I guess so."

He frowned slightly, "Are you sure, Lou? I mean, I don't want you to regret this."

In response she tugged at his shirt jokingly.

"That's my girl," he said admiringly, "But no - you first. Arms up."

She did as he said, and in a matter of seconds her top was crumpled up on top of his homework.

"Smooth," she approved, turning over to allow him access to the strap of her bra. This he did not have as much success with; he fumbled with the catch before finally getting it, "I can never undo those," he muttered under his breath, annoyed. She turned back over onto her back, arching it slightly. His arduous eyes took in her naked torso and paused on her breasts for a long moment. He slowly bent down and kissed her neck, nibbling it softly and kissed his way down her body until he got to the waistband of her skirt. He paused here for a minute, his eyes flicking to her face, asking permission. She bucked slightly and he grabbed the top of the skirt and pulled it down slowly, inch by inch, kissing his way down her thighs now. The skirt landed in a pile on top of her bra and top and he hesitated again before pulling off her knickers. Her cheeks were red and flushed; she was a bit embarrassed by how much trust she was putting in him by doing this.

He grinned at her devilishly, "Do your worst," he said, his eyes sparkling with anticipation and love.

She smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease now, "Oh I will," she replied.

She took a careful hold of his shirt and began to tug it upwards, her eyes automatically attracted to his six-pack.

"Hey, no kidding!" a loud voice called from just outside the door, oblivious to what was going on inside, "Well, we'll see you tomorrow, Lils!"

"Sorry," Sirius muttered, swearing under his breath, as Peter and Remus strolled into the room and stopped, horrified, as they took one look at the scene in front of them.

"Oh, sorry," Remus said, mortified, and he and Peter turned and ran out the door, far quicker than they had come in.

"Idiots," she scoffed, before picking up before they had left off; Sirius' shirt was soon on top of the pile of clothes and the rest of his clothes soon followed.

They lay in the bed a long time after, their arms draped around each other in a secure bond. This was not the end, it was the beginning of something new, better than what they had had before. In a way, they both mused separately, the short break they had had in their relationship had been a blessing.

* * *

**Aw yay, our favourite couple are back together... for now. And what surprises are in store for Lou and her friends in their last year of Howarts? I wonder. If you want to know, or rather find out, review!! I update much much faster with reviews. Hope that scene wasn't too intense and I hope it was accurate because I am only fourteen, so I haven't exactly had any experience in that area (heh).**

**xx**

**Baby seal**


	5. Her Overprotective Older Brother

Louise woke up in the boys' dormitories in Sirius' bed and instantly recalled the events of last night. She remembered taking off his shirt and pants and - oh Merlin, had she really? - having mad, intimate sex with him. This was not a usual occurrence for her and it had been her first time. That said, she had loved every minute of it.

But was she sure that she trusted him? He was Sirius Black and he had publicly hooked up with her enemy the day after she had broken up with him. And then he had dropped her that night - last night - and hooked up with herself. Godric, this sounded like something out of a soap opera!

So he was unfaithful. At least, she assumed he was and that he had always been with Vérona. But he was a damn good kisser and he made her laugh. Just being around him made her feel warm and loved. But would any of that matter? Would any of it make him like her and stay with her? This was Sirius Black, the one who switched girls faster than he switched boxers!

She heard a low rumble next to her and the arm slung across her waist moved slightly - he was waking up. She surveyed his face and saw his soft, gray eyes flick open and he smiled as he saw her.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted her. This alone gave her an inner glow.

"Hi, Sirius!" she replied happily, putting an arm around his chest.

He chuckled suddenly, "So… last night, eh?"

She cocked her head to one side and smirked at him lazily, "Last night."

"You're okay about it?" he blurted out in a rush. He had obviously been worrying about this, because his face was contorted into an apologetic grimace, "Like, no regrets, right?"

"Did _you_ have any regrets about it?" she asked, suddenly terrified of what his reply might be.

"Only that the night wasn't longer," he replied, a grin appearing on his face. She laughed with him and they only stopped when he leant over to her side of the bed and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"So what does this make us?" she asked when she had her breath back. Although the kiss had been pretty tame compared to their activities of late, it had still blown her away.

He sighed, but it was a happy and contented sigh. "Boyfriend and girlfriend, lovers, friends... Whatever you want us to be, I'm happy with it."

She giggled, reaching out a hand to stroke his chin lightly, "I like all of them."

"Me too."

Then suddenly a jet of water flew from the end of James' wand, which had appeared in front of them, and the curtains around Sirius bed were flung open.

"_Merlin_, James!" Sirius growled exasperatedly, putting a hand to his forehead to block out the light. But James was already stepping back in shock as he saw and registered Louise's presence in his best friend's bed.

"Oh, um... Lou! What a, um… I mean I shouldn't have-"

"Whatever, James," she dismissed lightly, "I mean, yeah you shouldn't have believed Sirius so easily, considering I had just dumped him but hey! Who cares? Anyway, you and _Lauren?_"

Her hazel-eyed friend blushed.

"Are you okay with it?" he asked, "We're together now - she's really nice!"

She frowned, "And Lily?"

Sirius interrupted with a shout, "Hang on, Prongs! You're with Lorrie?"

James nodded, "Yeah. We hooked up last night and, well, I decided that since Lily doesn't like me it's time I found someone else."

Louise patted him on the back cheerfully, "Well perhaps one day Lily will take a look at you and see what she's missing."

"Here's hoping," James grumbled in reply.

"Guys," Peter chipped in, "Remus is going to kill you!"

"Oh Godric!" James exclaimed, clapping a hand to his forehead in dismay, "He has a thing for her, doesn't he?"

"Uh-huh," Peter replied,"And he went off to ask her out just before you woke up."

"Oh no!" Louise said worriedly, upset for her shy friend, whose confidence would be completely shattered by Lauren's rejection, "Will he be mad at you?"

"I've known no one else to hold a grudge as long as Moony," Sirius remarked, "Good luck with that, Prongs."

"She's never shown a spot of interest in him, though!" Louise burst out, "Why is he setting himself up for rejection like this? It's just not like him."

"I think he's given himself an ultimatum," mused Sirius, "It's our last year and who knows how often he'll see her out of Hogwarts? He's fancied her for ages, but of course our Moony's too shy to let her know that."

"So this is like his last shot?" Louise said.

"Yeah. Too bad it's doomed to failure," confirmed James quietly. She felt sorry for him - he obviously hadn't realized that Remus was going to ask Lauren out the day after he had hooked up with her. It obviously wasn't intentional, but from what she had heard and knew of Remus, he most probably wouldn't see it that way.

"So Lou," James continued, smirking, "You and Sirius, eh? Was he good?"

She glared at him witheringly, "That is none of your business, but yes he was. Speaking as someone who hasn't exactly got anyone to compare him with, that is."

She would never have been able to say that if she hadn't known James for seven years. They had a wonderful friendship and it had never gone beyond that, for which they were both glad. He was her best non-romantic guy friend and they went well together. To James, she was like the sister he had never had - he was an only child, and to her, he was the brother she had never had, as her parents had separated before conceiving another child. She had hardly known her father and Mr Potter, the man she was closest to, was her surrogate father.

"Good," said James in satisfaction, "Because I would kill you if you got laid and didn't tell me. And I'm glad it was Sirius, otherwise I would've given the offending guy a major beating."

She snorted, "Bloody overprotective, you are."

"Wait - you tell him about all your sexual encounters?" Sirius asked.

She shifted, "Not _all_ of them." Hearing his indignant cry, she hastily set him right, "But I only tell him when I need his advice. It's nice to have a guy's perspective on that sort of stuff."

"Ah, well that's alright then," he amended.

She stretched like a cat in the sunlight filtering through the curtains and slowly, reluctantly got out of bed.

"I'll leave you boys to get freshened up. See you at breakfast!" were her parting words to them before she strolled out of their dormitory.

"Yeah, see you!" the boys replied, before James decided to take action.

"Now Padfoot…" he began, ready to become the overprotective brother, "What are your intentions with my darling Lou?"

* * *

He had been waiting for her for a while now. He knew she always liked to come down to breakfast a little early, even on the weekends and he wanted to catch her today because today he was going to do it. He was going to ask Lauren Kelly out.

He was seated on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, but he was tensed and ready to spring up when she approached. He had been preparing himself for this for a long time and his friends had been forever encouraging him to "get on with it" and to "hurry up or someone else'll get to her first and you won't get a look in." He finally felt ready to take the first step in their tentative relationship and ask her on a date and maybe, if it went well, she would agree to be his girlfriend.

He had always been besotted with her - the girl with so much in common with him at first. Her favourite TV show was Home and Away, as was his, and she was a half-blood and he was also. The only thing he had not understood about her was how much she needed a man's touch. She had had a string of one night stands and short, physical relationships with guys over their years at Hogwarts and he had never seen her settle with a guy. This only drew him more hungrily and intensely to her and he could not help but want to be the man to tame her, the one that she would always stay with. It was his fairytale fantasy, because he knew he was not attractive, at least not as attractive as James or Sirius, who had classes of girls fawning over them and obsessing over them. His other flaw was something he had absolutely no control over - he was a werewolf.

And then he saw her, a figure of perfection, gliding down the stairs and talking animatedly with Lily. Of course, Lou was nowhere in sight, she was with Sirius up in their dormitory. He wondered if Lauren knew the truth about Louise, that she wasn't bisexual at all, but that the whole thing had been a figment of Sirius' imagination.

As she flounced down the stairs, he rose to meet her and spoke quietly to her, "Lauren, can I have a word? In private."

She shot an apologetic look towards Lily and shrugged, "Yeah, sure. Save me a seat for breakfast please, Lily!

Lily only nodded and continued on her way out of the common room and as she left, Lauren spoke to Remus.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked politely.

Remus stammered out a scared and nervous reply, "I just wondered… whether you might like to… I mean that maybe you might want to go out with… me?"

He bit his lip; that had not sounded as confident as it had when he had practiced it in the dormitory bathroom. Her reaction stunned him, her face showed only pity and sympathy.

"Oh! Ah, I'm sorry Remus, but didn't James tell you? We just started going out last night. Besides, you're not really my type, sorry!"

Remus felt red hot shame and disappointment wash over him and despaired. Why was it he had even thought that she would give him a chance?

"No, he didn't," he said hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to run upstairs and hide his face. Lily would want to know why Remus had wanted to talk to her friend, and pretty soon everyone would know that he had been rejected by Lauren. This prospect made him feel even worse than he already did, if that was at all possible. He felt crushed and knew rejection as he reflected on the fact that he had wasted six years obsessing over this girl, when really she had never had any romantic interest in him.

"Hey," she said, noticing his reaction, "I really _am_ sorry, Remus."

"Yeah, it's okay. Really," he amended, not wanting to sound at all upset. "I should probably go and wait for the others. Right then. Bye!"

And with that, he turned and ran up the stairs as fast as he could, feeling hot tears pricking in his eyes. He could not cry - he would not let himself show weakness in front of her. She could never know she had affected him in this way, she would laugh.

"Wait!" she called after him, "Come down to breakfast with me!"

But it was too late for Remus Lupin - he was already upstairs and could not face her now. He wasn't sure if he ever would be able to show his face around her again, now that she knew how he felt about her. When he half-ran half-stumbled into the boy's dormitories, he found James lecturing Sirius on 'how to treat a girl, in particular Lou.'

"I hate you," he sobbed at James, before barrelling onto his bed and pulling the covers over his head. The room was instantly silent and the tension was unmistakeable.

"Oh crap," James said, instantly remorseful, "This is about Lauren, isn't it? Please tell me you didn't just ask her out!"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" he burst out, "WHY?"

James sighed and came to sit on the side of his bed, but Remus kicked him off with his feet from under the blanket. "I didn't know until it was too late, Moony. Please don't be mad," he pleaded, "We're such good friends and I couldn't bear to lose you. You know, since we're spiritual brothers and all that."

At the end of their sixth year, Sirius had convinced the other three to make a blood bond, and it involved each of them drawing blood from their thumbs and then pressing the wounds against the others until they each had a bit of the others' blood mixed with theirs. According to Sirius, this made them 'blood brothers' or 'spiritual brothers' as James had nicknamed it jokingly.

"Brothers don't treat each other like _shit_, James!" was Remus' fiery reply.

"Seriously, Moony," Sirius interjected, "He honestly didn't want to hurt you and by the time he knew, we figured we should just let it go. What if she had said yes?"

"But she likes James!"

"I can't help that, y'know," James said quietly, staring at his hands.

"You guys don't realize- you're so _lucky_!" Remus said, "All the girls like you, you're _normal_, in the sense that you're not monsters and don't have any afflictions, and you get good grades in school! Is it too much to ask that I could just have Lauren? Just _one thing?_"

"And what about my family?" Sirius spat venomously, glaring at Remus with an intensity that stopped him cold. "Am I supposed to feel lucky to have them? Shit happens, Remus! In fact, you know what? Shit happens to _everyone_, not just you! So stop being so damn pathetic and GET ON WITH IT!"

Remus was stunned into silence. He could understand where Sirius was coming from, and yeah, Sirius did have an awful family. No one had a perfect life, he guessed, and he was way out of line. After all, it wasn't the fault of either of the two boys arguing with him that Lauren did not like him. It wasn't even his fault - it was just one of those shitloads life heaped up on your shoulders that you had to deal with.

Still, he couldn't help feeling angry and betrayed that James was now Lauren's boyfriend although he suspected his friend had not known of his own feelings for her. All the fight had been drained out of him, and, besides, these boys were his dearest friends and they had a strong bond. Their friendship could not be allowed to break up because of a girl. The fight might have been resolved, but Remus had lost his self-confidence, and it would take a while for him to be comfortable around Lauren again.


	6. Tell You Later

Lauren walked down to breakfast in a daze. Remus Lupin, a vague friend of hers, had just asked her out! She had felt completely awful - the boy was as shy as a bloody mouse, and as of yesterday she had been going out with one of his best friends. She had tried to apologize and make him feel better, but his offer had come as such a shock to her that she hadn't really had time to think over her response to let him down easily.

She had reached the Great Hall by now, and she slid into a seat next to Lily in their normal spot.

"Morning," she said brightly, smiling at Lily, "Again."

Lily returned the smile, "Yeah… you too! Hey, what'd Remus want?"

Much as Lauren trusted Lily (Lily was not one to gossip), she was a little apprehensive about spilling Remus' secret to her. She felt bad enough about turning him down as it was.

"Uhh," she stalled, then decided just to blurt it out. "He wanted me to be his girlfriend."

The shock on Lily's face was priceless. Obviously she had never thought that her closest guy friend had feelings for one of her girlfriends.

"Are you serious?" she spluttered, choking on her pumpkin juice. She muttered a quick cleaning spell to get the juice stain off her top.

Lauren nodded, unable to crack a smile now.

"So you said _yes_, right?" Lily continued, trying - and failing - to compose herself.

"Oh!" was all Lauren could say, afraid to disappoint and anger her friend. "Um, I er… no, I didn't."

"Why not?" Lily queried, raising an eyebrow. Lauren could feel the sympathy for Remus radiating out from her friend already.

"I'm in a relationship at the moment," she explained, hoping Lily could see the reluctance in her face and drop it. Unfortunately for her, Lily didn't.

"With who?" she persisted, spearing a piece of toast fiercely with a fork, jabbing at it so hard that a hole formed in the toast.

"Uh, no one." She shied away from the question, deciding to change the subject of their conversation. "So how's your little crush on a certain Frank Longbottom?"

Lily was currently absolutely smitten with a fellow seventh year Ravenclaw called Frank Longbottom. But Lauren and Louise didn't expect much to come of it; they knew how quick Lily was to form crushes. Practically the only boy in their year (and the year above them that had just graduated from Hogwarts) that she hadn't had a crush on was James. Come to think of it, Lauren couldn't think of anyone else, save Dylan Matthews (a pervert who collected porn magazines and basically lived in the girls' bathrooms) and Peter Pettigrew, but that was a given. Peter was a follower - he trailed along after James, Sirius and Remus, laughing at their jokes because he was unable to make up his own. He was a joke, but as the only other Gryffindor boy in their year, the other three had taken pity on him and befriended him.

Lily sighed, "Ahh, he's taken. Why is it that every boy I take a fancy to decides to get a girlfriend?"

"Maybe you haven't met the right one yet," Lauren replied, smiling slightly. She had been slightly surprised that Lily had swallowed her blatantly obvious subject change, but she was glad and relieved just the same.

"Who do you think the right one is then?" Lily asked curiously.

"He may not necessarily know you yet, or vice versa," Lauren demurred. She knew exactly which name she would throw at Lily normally, but she couldn't once again suggest James Potter to her friend. How ironic, she thought. The one she had always thought would be perfect for her friend was dating herself.

"That's funny," Lily said suspiciously, "You haven't mentioned Potter yet. Wouldn't you normally be listing all his good virtues for my benefit… not that he has any, _might I add_."

Lauren bit her lip, but before she could answer, a cheery voice came from behind her.

"Talking about me, ladies?"

Lily rolled her eyes as James Potter plonked down into a seat next to them. However, her mouth dropped open in astonishment bordering on disbelief as he gave Lauren a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey Lorrie," he purred into her ear, just loud enough for Lily to hear.

Lauren returned his greeting with a longer kiss on the lips and when the two started making out in front of her, she cleared her throat.

They looked expectantly at her, faces still inches apart.

"Lauren, why are you _kissing_ Potter?" she hissed.

James grinned, "Haven't you heard? We're going out."

"So this is who you refused Remus for!" She said quietly to Lauren. She felt so sorry for Remus, betrayed by his friend - though she had no idea why he was friends with such idiots.

Lauren gasped, "No, Lily! It wasn't like that at all!"

She narrowed her eyes, "It had better not have been. Knowing Remus, he's liked her for ages but has been too shy to say anything until now."

"Lily," James said gently, "It wasn't like that. I give my word, for what it's worth."

"It's worth nothing, but I trust Lauren's judgement on this one," Lily replied.

"Say, have you heard about Louise?" Lauren said eagerly, leaning forward. She liked a good gossip, but she wouldn't normally gossip about her friends. But this was monumental news, and she felt compelled to spread it around.

Lily shook her head, "No, I haven't. What is it?"

James interrupted, "Has word gotten out already? Well, it's bound to sound worse than it actually is. Poor Lou, it was her first time."

"What was her first time, James?" Lauren asked, sounding confused. "I was under the impression that someone had found out her true sexuality." She shuddered, "And to think I'm sharing a room with a bisexual!"

"What on earth are you on about?" Lily exclaimed, waving her arms around frantically. "Lou doesn't like both - she's straight! Hang on a sec," she said, the evident truth dawning on her, "Who told you this?"

"I- well, Sirius Black," Lauren said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest. "And don't look at me like that, Lil! I'm sure he wouldn't lie about something like that."

"Hate to break it to you," James said, "But he was lying about it. He and Lou are back together again." And he smiled at some inside joke that the two girls did not understand.

"It's obvious, Lorrie," said Lily scathingly, "Lou just dumped him. Of course he's going to be mad, so what does he do? He makes up rumours about her to make himself feel better."

Lauren was blushing. "Oops."

"Don't worry," Lily affirmed. "I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"Hey, what'd you mean when you said 'it was her first time,' James?" Lauren asked her boyfriend.

"I… er, don't think they would want me to tell you that," he replied, worried. He didn't want to betray Lou and Sirius' secret to anyone just yet.

"It's o- _they_?" Lauren said, picking up on the key word in his sentence.

"Sorry, I meant she," James said nervously.

He heard Lily's sharp intake of breath. "They did it, didn't they James?"

"Ah, I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"Don't make me say it," Lily warned.

James sighed, "Yes, they did. But don't tell _anyone_, okay?"

She nodded gravely, "Her and… Sirius, right?"

It was his turn to nod.

"Hang on, what?" Lauren interrupted, confused again. "What did Lou and Sirius do?" And then implications of what her boyfriend and one of her best friends had said sank in. "Oh. They had sex!"

James glanced around. Thank Merlin no one was in hearing distance, he thought. "Shh, not so loud."

"Aw, I'm so happy for her!" Lauren squealed, beaming. Really, he thought to himself, she was rather like a child in the way that she could go from being happy to being sad and back to happy again in a few minutes. He would much rather be holding Lily, inhaling her warm, mature scent. He wondered vaguely what perfume she liked. The urge to stroke her hair grew stronger and he felt a familiar sensation beginning at the crotch of his pants. He winced inwardly, but realized that Lauren would merely think he lusted for her. How mistaken she was, he thought sadly, how mistaken.

Behind him, he heard a familiar laugh and he craned his head around to see Lou looking pointedly down at his lap, giggling.

He glared at her, before a smile forced its way onto his face. "You're _not_ funny," he huffed.

"No, but you are," she answered pertly. Then she noticed her two friends sitting next to James.

"Hey Lily!" she said brightly, ignoring Lauren completely. Lily smiled back and nodded to her.

"Ah, come on Lou," Lauren said in an irritated voice. She was annoyed that Louise hadn't… well, gotten over what had happened between them the night before.

Louise stared right through her, her expression carefully blank. She sat down slowly next to James.

"Where's Sirius?" she asked him neutrally. His eyes flashed to hers and he put a hand around her shoulders, conveying comfort and sympathy with his touch. She smiled at him in thanks.

"He was just getting out of the shower when I left," he answered, "He'll be down soon, don't worry. But Lou, are you sure you're-"

"I'm OKAY!" she said fiercely. But he knew better. He had felt her stiffen next to him as he had asked her if she was indeed okay and he understood that she was still bitter towards Lauren, for his new girlfriend hadn't apologized for her behaviour the night before.

"You two need to talk this out," he said. He meant to help - he didn't want his best girl friend to be unhappy and he didn't like the idea of his girlfriend and his closest girl friend fighting.

Her mouth set in a hard line, "If she apologized, I'd forgive her. But she expects me to just _forget_ it and that I can't do."

"I'll talk to her," James offered, "If you want."

She shrugged, "Sure."

A second later she felt Sirius' hands squeezing her sides so that she jumped up.

"Sirius!" she yelped, sitting down gingerly. He sat next to her and began shovelling toast onto a plate.

"Hey, didn't see you there," he said, winking.

"Haha, very funny," she said sarcastically, stabbing her own toast with unnecessary force.

"I know," he said, grinning. "Siriusly funny, right?"

"That joke was old the first time you said it," James greeted his best friend.

"Siriusly?" Sirius joked, his face turned towards James. "I never knew!"

He watched as James laughed loudly, before his face became serious - sirius - and he spoke softly so that Lauren could not hear.

"Where's Remus?"

Sirius leant over Louise so that his face was inches from James'.

"In the dorm, sulking still."

James sighed exasperatedly, "He'll come down before lessons. He never misses class, only when…"

But then he seemed to remember that Louise was listening to their conversation and he stopped.

"When what?" Louise asked, leaning her head down towards the boys' heads conspiratorially. When neither of them answered, she said in a furious whisper, "I'm your girlfriend, Sirius! And James, you're my best guy mate! I've known you both for a whole seven years, and I know you're keeping something big from me. Why? Don't you trust me at all?"

"That's not it," Sirius began in a whisper after sharing a look with James. "We'll tell you later."

"Why later? Why not _now_?" she pleaded. This wasn't fair; friends weren't supposed to have secrets from each other.

"Because this involves all the Marauders, and half of them aren't present right now," James answered fluidly.

"I won't forget," she promised, her eye contact with the two never wavering.

"Neither will we," Sirius replied for both of them and there was a moment in which all three of them looked at each other, sealing their agreement.

"Later, then," James said, and then he turned the conversation to another topic. "So who knows who Peter's new girl is?"

"His only girl," Sirius sniggered.

Louise slapped him lightly across the face, but when he looked up in annoyance he saw that she was snickering too.

"It's Alice Prewett, isn't it?" she guessed.

"Nope, not a chance," James said, "She's deeply taken by Frank Longbottom at the moment."

Louise glanced towards Lily, finding her deep in conversation with Lauren. James did not miss this, and he scowled.

"She likes him?"

Louise wasn't sure quite how much to say. Her loyalties were torn between protecting a friend and informing her still quite lovestruck guy friend about the object of his desires and her crushes.

"Not anymore," she hedged, frowning when she had a revelation. "You do still like her!"

"How can I not? She's _perfect_." James whispered the last word reverently, risking a quick look at Lily.

"But you're with… Lauren!" she protested. "Much as I hate the girl right now, you shouldn't do that to her - it's cruel."

He shrugged, "Oh well. She's used to quick relationships."

"And she's fine with it just as long as she's the one doing the dumping," Sirius said sourly. He was still upset by being publicly dumped by Lauren after a week long relationship in fourth year. "Anyway, Peter's gone and hooked up with Courtney West!"

"Who?" Louise asked curiously, not recognizing the name.

Sirius chuckled, "A sixth year Hufflepuff."

The others laughed too now, at poor Peter's expense.

"That's _so_ sad," James choked through tears of laughter.

Louise snorted, "Poor guy."

"What are you talking about, James?" Lauren asked suddenly from beside him.

"Ahh," he said, taking a deep breath as he tried to stop laughing. "Nothing really."

"_Nothing_ doesn't leave you laughing like that," she said resentfully.

"It was just guy stuff," James managed evasively, forcing the laughter to stop.

"You were talking to _her_ about it," Lauren said, pointing a finger at Louise.

"But she's a good friend," he protested, "Am I not allowed to talk to my friends, Lauren?"

She narrowed her eyes, but backtracked. "Yes, of course you are! I just wondered what you were laughing about."

"Well keep wondering," he snapped, and Louise felt a sense of vindictive pleasure in the sight of Lauren finally cowed by a male. She wondered how long Lauren and James would last as a couple. From Lauren's history and James' clear adoration for Lily; she didn't think they would last a week.


	7. Andrew Murphy

Louise had not expected James and Lauren to last as long as they did. The breakup happened some four weeks later, during their first Hogsmeade trip. James had been eyeing up Madam Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks and Lauren had objected a bit too strongly.

She was still not speaking to Lauren, and Lauren herself had given up trying to persuade her friend to forgive her for believing Sirius' spiteful rumours.

Ah, Sirius. The two were still going strong and she couldn't believe she had been silly enough to break up with him! He was certainly the perfect gentleman: kind, sweet, gorgeous and courteous. She was in love (or so her adolescent mind told her).

She had gotten an interesting owl from her mum, which made her wonder more and more about her mysterious father. Her mother had reminded her of the promise she had made Louise to tell her everything she wanted to know about her father when she was of age, which in the wizarding world was 17. Her birthday was a couple of months away, in early January, but she was already looking forward to it, so that she could apparate and learn more about her father.

She was eating breakfast a few days after James and Lauren's rather stormy breakup, when she received an owl. She looked up in surprise - pleasantly so - and took the letter off its leg cautiously.

_Dear Louise,_

_I am very sorry to have to tell you this, but I think you should know the truth. I know you and Sirius Black are an item which was why I was surprised when he made a pass at me yesterday evening as I was walking in the corridors. He told me that he needed some 'real action' and he kissed me. I did not return his advances, at which point he promptly left me, telling me to keep this 'secret.' I'm really sorry, but I thought that you needed to know._

The letter finished there. Louise looked up in shock, scanning the Great Hall as if to find out who had sent the note. This couldn't be true! Sirius had promised her that he would always stay true to her and their relationship, and she had never doubted this before. Now it seemed that he had disregarded this and all that it meant for them.

What had he done? How many other affairs had there been, before this even? She was completely dumbfounded at her naivety. Surely she couldn't have believed his lies so easily, surely she had harboured some scepticism over his sincerity that he was faithful to her!

"Lou?" Sirius asked her, waving his hand in front of her. "What's in the note?"

She turned to look at him - him in his spectacular glory. What girl wouldn't go for his charms and good looks? She couldn't blame herself for falling for this heartbreaker.

"Lou, darl, what's up? You look like you just saw a ghost!"

"I don't believe you," she said finally in a low whisper. "I just don't."

"Huh? You're not making any sense!"

She frowned at him, narrowing her eyes. "So where," she demanded quietly. "Where were you last night? What were you doing?"

Sirius blinked. "What on earth are you-"

"JUST ANSWER ME, DAMNIT!" she screamed, tearing at her hair in frustration. Why was he drawing it out like this, and pretending he didn't know? It was easier for both of them to do this quietly, and quickly.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her with him as he walked swiftly out of the Great Hall, with their friends and most of the rest of the people eating breakfast staring after them incredulously.

Once they had reached the common room, they stopped. It was silent, with everyone at breakfast now.

"Care to explain to me what all that was about?" he said through gritted teeth. He finally let go of her arm and crossed his across his chest, waiting for an answer.

"I know what you did last night, Black, and I know what you've been doing all along!" she accused, stepping towards him. He stepped back, cautious.

"And what's that? Darling Lou, I am genuinely curious."

She went to hit him, needing to make him feel pain, but his warm hands prevented her from doing so.

"I think this is a misunderstanding," he said coolly, more annoyed than sympathetic now. He wanted answers; she could tell.

"Oh yeah? And how do you explain _this_?" She held up the note and passed it to him when he put his hand out in request.

He read it quickly, his eyes darting from side to side as he concentrated. When he had finished he let it slip through his grasp.

"Lou, this is all completely untrue!" he burst out, hands shaking with anger and desperation. She had to see this, she _had_ to understand!

She sniffed. "You would say that, wouldn't you?"

"No! Look, I know her handwriting. This is… not someone I'd take up with again. You're a much better person than she is!"

"Who?"

He faltered. "I don't think you really want to know."

Louise was instantly suspicious; who was this girl? And could she trust Sirius?

"Then I don't believe you," she said simply.

Sirius looked at her with a strange expression in his eyes - one she could not place. It made her uneasy.

"It's Vérona," he admitted sheepishly. "I'd know her handwriting anywhere."

She was angry that he would immediately recognize her rival's handwriting (and there was a lot more about her that he'd recognize, she thought to herself sourly) but she wanted to trust him.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

He kissed her so suddenly that she did not have time to pull away, nor was she sure that she wanted to. It was so easy just to go on believing him blithely, ignorantly.

"Trust me, Lou," he whispered into her ear. She could do that. But did that make it right?

"But," she replied, pulling out of his grasp, "I'm not sure I can."

He reached out and took her hands in his. "Are you breaking up with me again, darl?"

Her hands were stiff instantly. "I-I don't know," she stuttered, only for the first time beginning to think about this herself.

"I've given up so much for you, so I can't see why you think I would try to cheat on you after last time!" he exclaimed, looking frustrated. She hated to see him so unhappy.

"It would never work if I tried to take myself away from you," she said. "I'm too selfish. I need you, because… because I love you."

"So you're not going to break up with me?" he questioned, but he was happy; it was in his eyes.

"No, I'm not, Sirius!"

Sirius smiled broadly. "You love me."

Louise felt her throat go dry. "And you?"

"Do I love myself?" Sirius wondered, joking. "I can think of someone I love more…"

"Who, Vérona?" she said bitingly, and saw his teasing smile die on his lips.

He groaned. "Really, Lou-"

"I know, I know! It's Severus! I always thought you two would look good together, Sirius. Congratulations!"

Sirius jumped, startled by her witty comment. "Wow," he drawled, before gathering his thoughts together enough to form a reply. _She loves me, she loves me, she loves me!_ "How did you know? I thought I heard someone when Sevvy and I were in a broom closet making l-"

She hit him, but this time she did not intend to hurt him; it was just a playful punch. "That's enough! Ah, imagining that has scarred me for life!"

He mock-gasped, putting a hand to his forehead as if to faint. "You _homophobe_!"

"Well…" she debated, "It's not exactly the thought of you being gay that scares me - although I wouldn't like it if you were, considering we _are_ going out - but it's more imagining you and Severus doing, erm, things to each other that's the problem."

Sirius squealed rather girlishly. "Louise Grace Mitchell! You _do_ have a dirty mind, don't you?"

"Shut up, Sirius _Orion_ Black," she growled, narrowing her eyes at him dangerously.

He kissed her. "Well if you makes you feel any better, darl, you're a much better kisser than he is."

She laughed and kissed him back; what a wonderful thing love was.

* * *

To say that Lauren was unhappy would be an understatement. No, she was not unhappy - she was completely devastated.

She sorely missed Lou. Although she wasn't sorry for calling her friend a whore and believing her then-ex-boyfriend's malicious rumours about her, she did wish that Lou could just forget about it and take her back as a friend. She had always been one to hold grudges and had shown that in their first year by not immediately forgiving Lily for not clapping at James' arrival into Gryffindor. But it was about a month after the incident had happened and she was disappointed that her friend didn't _want_ to forgive her. Indeed, Lou was getting very cosy with Sirius and she didn't seem to miss Lauren at all.

She was currently waiting with Remus in a _very_ awkward silence for the new exchange student who had been sorted into Gryffindor in Dumbledore's office. They were both intrigued by this seventh year, as exchange students were very rare at Hogwarts. What's more, they had been told that this boy had not developed signs of any magic until a few months ago. He had then been put through an intensive course to make sure that he was up to seventh year standard, and he was going to be in all of their classes this year and would share a dormitory with the Marauders. Lauren and Remus had been asked to make sure he got settled in well and to look out for him.

Remus still wasn't able to look her in the eye without blushing profusely and looking away again. He really was a very shy boy, she thought.

There was a knock on the door, and they both sat up in their seats. Professor McGonagall came in and following her was a stunning boy - the exchange student - smiling nervously at them. She opened her eyes even wider when she saw _him_. He had gorgeous fair hair with brown streaks running through it and the most penetrating golden eyes. This boy had obviously spent a lot of his time in the sun, which was unusual in England.

"Miss Kelly, Mr Lupin," Professor McGonagall spoke, but Lauren could hardly hear her. Instead, she stared at the boy. She knew that she must look pretty odd to him, just gazing at him intensely.

"Yes?" Remus asked the professor, and she quickly followed his lead.

"This is Andrew Murphy, our new student. I trust you two will look after him in Gryffindor and make sure he settles in well."

They both nodded. "Yes, professor."

"I shall leave you three to get to know each other a bit better," their head of house said, and swept out of the room as quickly as she had come in.

Andrew did not speak, simply raising an eyebrow at them.

She decided it would be best if she spoke finally. "Hi, Andrew. I'm Lauren Kelly and this is Remus Lupin. We're seventh year Gryffindors like you and I guess you know the rest."

"Pleased to meet you," he said, grinning at her.

Remus cleared his throat.

"And you, um, Remus was it?"

Remus nodded. "Likewise."

"So where are you from?" Lauren asked curiously, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to attract his attention. "It's just that you don't get that kind of tan in England."

Andrew laughed heartily. "Yeah, a lot of people say that. I'm English really, but my dad lives over in America, so when I spend time with him I tan quickly."

"Are your parents separated?" Remus asked the new boy, a bit rudely, Lauren thought.

He nodded. "So are all the birds this easy on the eyes?"

Remus tensed, obviously remembering the incident a month ago when he had asked Lauren out. "Yeah, um, there are two other girls in our year that are in Gryffindor: Lou and Lily."

Andrew smirked. "The three 'L's then?"

"I'd never even thought of that!" exclaimed Lauren, clapping a hand over her mouth to stop the hysterical giggles that threatened to burst through. She was getting frustrated with her inability to flirt properly with the boy - Andrew.

"You sound like James and Sirius - they're absolutely obsessed with girls too, Andrew," Remus said, chuckling.

"Do they have girlfriends?" he asked inquisitively.

Lauren choked. Andrew ran towards her and very gallantly proceeded to whack her on the back so that she stopped coughing and spluttering.

"Th-thanks," she said softly.

Remus scowled. "Sirius is going out with Lou, but James just broke up with… someone… a few days ago, so he's a bachelor of Hogwarts once more." He did not seem to like Andrew's attention to her, Lauren realized. _He must still like me…_

"And what about you and your friends, Lauren? Are you all taken?"

She sighed mournfully. "Lou is with Sirius, as Remus said, but Lily and I are both single."

He tilted his head to one side and studied her hard. "Wow," he said, letting out a low whistle. "The dudes at Hogwarts must be blind!"

If Andrew noticed Remus glaring at him, he did not comment upon it.

She smiled, flattered. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He returned her smile. "Hey, call me Andy. Everyone does."

* * *

At dinner that night, Dumbledore introduced Andy to the whole school. As he was a muggleborn, the Slytherins naturally booed him, but Gryffindor drowned them out in their somewhat surprised cheering.

Andy slipped into a seat next to Lauren and began talking to her, when a voice from a few seats down the table interrupted them.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing here, Andy?"

Lauren looked in surprise as Andy turned to where the voice had come from, and she saw his eyes narrow.

"Louise Mitchell," he noted, staring daggers into her.

Lauren's ex-friend scowled. "Yes, that's my name. Why the hell are you at Hogwarts, _Andrew Murphy_?"

"Oy! Leave him alone!" Lauren said, defending Andy against Louise.

"Oh that's just typical of you, Lauren Kelly! Always taking someone else's side against me, you are! Don't you remember me telling you about him? How proud I was that he was my _first ever boyfriend_?"

Sirius blanched. "Hands off, mate," he said, winking at Andy to show him that he meant no offense in saying that.

"No deal - I'm guessing you would be Sirius - I don't _want_ her and I wouldn't go out with her if you paid me!"

James held up his hands in an attempt to calm the two down. "Whoa, whoa guys! Calm down! Now, what's all this actually _about_?"

* * *

**I'd just like to say that i am not at all opposed to homosexuals - Sirius and Lou were having a laugh and I don't want anyone getting all upset because i was being 'offensive.'**

**Anyway, this was a pretty eventful chapter. Is Sirius cheating on Lou, or is he a faithful boyfriend to her? And whoa, Andy's back! You didn't really think he was just some random face, did you?**

**Poor Lou. A lot's happening for her at the moment, and the last thing she really needed was to see her ex-boyfriend...**

**Till next time,**

**xx**

**Baby seal**


End file.
